Sri Log

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe – Attorney-at-Law

Veddas are the aborigines or indigenous people of Sri Lanka . Mahawansa reveals that Veddas are descended from Prince Vijaya (6th-5th century BC), the founding father of the Sinhala nation, through Kuweni a woman of the indigenous Yakka clan whom he had espoused.

Bori Bori Sellam-Sellam Bedo Wanniya,
Palletalawa Navinna-Pita Gosin Vetenne,
Malpivili genagene-Hele Kado Navinne,
Diyapivili Genagene-Thige Bo Haliskote Peni,
Ka tho ipal denne
(A Vedda honeycomb cutter’s folk song)

Meaning – The bees from yonder hills of Palle Talawa and Kade suck nectar from the flowers and made the honeycomb. So why should you give them undue pain when there is no honey by cutting the honeycomb.(Wikepedia)

The Mahavansa relates that following the repudiation of Kuveni by Vijaya, in favour of a “Kshatriya” princess from the “Pandya” country, their two children, a boy and a girl, departed to the region of “Sumanakuta” (Adam’s Peak in the Ratnapura District, and their progeny gave rise to the Veddas. Veddas are believed to be identical with the “Yakkhas” of yore.Veddas are also mentioned in Robert Knox’s history of his captivity by the King of Kandy in the 17th century. Knox described them as “wild men,” but also said there was a “tamer sort,” and that the latter sometimes served in the king’s army Archaeological scholars such as Nandadeva Wijesekera (Veddas in transition 1964) hold the view that the Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabargamuwa Province is known to have been inhabited by the Veddas in the distant past.The very name Sabaragamuwa is believed to have meant the village of the Sabaras or “forest barbarians”. Such place-names as Vedda-gala (Vedda Rock), Vedda-ela ( Vedda Canal ) and Vedi-kanda ( Vedda Mountain ) in the Ratnapura District also bear testimony to this. As observed by Wijesekera, a strong Vedda concentration is discernible in the population of Vedda-gala and its environs. As for the traditional original language of the Veddas, it is presently used primarily by the interior Veddas of Dambana. Communities, such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura Veddas, that do not identify themselves strictly as Veddas They also use Vedda language in part for communication during hunting and or for religious chants.

Linguists opine that the parent Vedda language(s) is of unknown generic origins while Sinhalese is of the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European Languages. Phonologically it is distinguished from Sinhalese by the higher frequency of palatal sounds C and J meanings. Instead of borrowing new words from Sinhalese,the Veddas created a combinations of words from a limited lexical stock. Sinhala speaking Veddas are found primarily in the southeastern part of the country, especially in the vicinity of Bintenne in the Uva District. There are also Sinhala-speaking Veddas who live in the Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province. Another group, often termed East Coast Veddas, is found in coastal areas of the Eastern Province, between Batticaloa and Trincomalee. These Veddas speak Tamil as their mother tongue. One of the most distinctive features of Vedda religion is the worship of dead ancestors: these are termed “nae yaku” among the Sinhala-speaking Veddas. There are also peculiar deities that are unique to Veddas. One of them is “Kande Yakka”.

Veddas along with the Island’s Buddhist, and Hindu communities venerate God Skanda or Murugan at the temple situated at Kataragama showing the coexistence that has evolved over 2,000 years. Kataragama is supposed to be the site at which the God Skanda met and married a local tribal girl, Valli, who in Sri Lanka is believed to have been a Vedda. There are a number of other shrines across the island, not as famous as Kataragama that are as sacred to the Veddas as well as to other communities. Vedda religion centred round a cult of ancestral spirits known as Ne yakku,(or relative spirits or demons) whom the Veddas invoked for game and yams.
The Vedda marriage ceremony is a very simple affair. The ritual consists of the bride tying a bark rope (diya lanuva) around the waist of the bridegroom. This is the essence of the Vedda marriage and is symbolic of the bride’s acceptance of the man as her mate and life partner. Although marriage between cross-cousins was the norm until recently, this has changed significantly, with Vedda women even contracting marriages with their Sinhalese and Moor neighbours.

In Vedda society, the woman is in many respects man’s equal. She is entitled to similar inheritance. Monogamy is the general rule, though a widow would be frequently married by her husband’s brother as a means of support and consolation Death too is a simple affair without any ostentatious funeral ceremonies and the corpse of the deceased is promptly buried. Although that medical knowledge of the Vedda is limited, it nevertheless appears to be sufficient. For example, pythonesa oil (pimburu tel), a local remedy used for healing wounds, has proven to be very successful in the treatment of fractures and deep cuts.The Veddas believe in the cult of the dead. They worshipped and made incantations to their Nae Yakka (Relative Spirit) followed by other customary ritual (called the Kiri Koraha) which is still in vogue among the surviving Gam Veddas of Rathugala, Pollebedda Dambana and the Henanigala Vedda re-settlement (in Mahaweli systems off Mahiyangane).They believed that the spirit of their dead would haunt them bringing forth diseases and calamity. To appease the dead spirit they invoke the blessings of the Nae Yakka and other spirits, like Bilinda Yakka, Kande Yakka followed by the dance ritual of the Kiri Koraha.

Until fairly recent times, the raiment of the Veddas was remarkably scanty. In the case of men, it consisted only of a loincloth suspended with a string at the waist, while in the case of women, it was a piece of cloth that extended from the navel to the knees. Today, however, Vedda attire is more covering, men wear a short sarong extending from the waist to the knees, while the women folk clad themselves in a garment similar to the diya-redda (akin to a bikini)which extends from the breast line to the knees.

Vedda cave drawings such as those found at Hamangala provide graphic evidence of the sublime spiritual and artistic vision achieved by the ancestors of today’s Wanniyala-Aetto people. Most researchers today agree that the artists most likely were the Wanniyala-Aetto women who spent long hours in these caves waiting for their menfolk’s return from the hunt. Understood from this perspective, these cave drawings depict brilliant feats of Wanniyala-Aetto culture as seen through the eyes of its women folk. The simple yet graceful abstract figures are portrayed engaging in feats of vision and daring that place them firmly above even the greatest beasts of their jungle habitat.

Veddas were originally hunters and gatherers. They used bows and arrows to hunt game, and also gathered wild plants and honey. Many Veddas also farm, using “chena” cultivation in Sri Lanka . East Coast Veddas also practice fishing. Veddas are famously known for their rich meat diet. Venison and the flesh of rabbit, turtle, tortoise, monitor lizard, wild boar and the common brown monkey are consumed with much relish. The Veddas kill only for food and do not harm young or pregnant animals. Game is commonly shared amongst the family and clan. Fish are caught by employing fish poisons such as the juice of the pus-vel (Entada scandens) and daluk-kiri (Cactus milk). TheVedda’s culinary fare is also deserving of a mention. Amongst the best known are gona perume, which is a sort of sausage containing alternate layers of meat and fat, and goya-tel-perume, which is the tail of the monitor lizard (talagoya), stuffed with fat obtained from its sides and roasted in embers. Another Vedda delicacy is dried meat preserve soaked in honey. In the olden days, the Veddhs used to preserve such meat in the hollow of a tree, enclosing it with clay.Such succulent meat served as a ready food supply in times of scarcity. The early part of the year (January–February) is considered to be the season of yams and mid-year (June–July) that of fruit and honey, while hunting is availed of throughout the year. Nowadays, more and more Vedda folk have taken to Chena (slash and burn) cultivation. Kurakkan (Eleusine coracana) is cultivated very often. Maize, yams, gourds and melons are also cultivated. In the olden days, the dwellings of the Veddas consisted of caves and rock shelters. Today, they live in unpretentious huts of wattle, daub and thatch.

Some observers have said Veddas are disappearing and have lamented the decline of their distinct culture.Development, government forest reserve restrictions, and the civil war have disrupted the traditional Vedda ways of life. A renowned anthropologist Dr. Wiveca Stegeborn, has been studying the Vedda since 1977 alleges that their young women are being tricked into accepting contracts to the Middle East as domestic workers when in fact they will be trafficked into prostitution or sold as sex slaves Vedda populations of this kind are increasing in some districts. Leonard Woolf had written a very popular novel based on the life of veddas titled “Village in the Jungle.”

When Steve Jobs was asked in 1985 why people should make a heavy investment on a new computer built by Apple, he replied that if one had asked Alexander Graham Bell about the possible uses of a telephone, he would not have been able to say. Moreover, he envisioned a time when computers like the one he had made would be linked to a nationwide communications network. That uncanny understanding of the future course of technology, the intuition, vision, and courage necessary to build it marked the extraordinary life of Steve Jobs. When he died on Wednesday at the age of 56, he left the venture he co-founded in his parents’ garage the most valuable technology company in the world. A restless diviner of the digital future, Jobs made things for people before they knew they needed it. The first Macintosh computer brought technologies such as the graphical user interface and the mouse to the mainstream, scoring a giant leap over text-based displays. The iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad were products of his belief that humans, as instinctive users of tools, would love them. These creations successfully disrupted the universe of gadgets and entertainment, creating new benchmarks for products.

A quarter century ago, at a time when the computer business was focussed on big corporations and mainframes, Jobs pursued a vision to take the productivity of the computer to the small businessperson and the home user. He used innovation and reliability as growth engines. He was the digital woodworker who never compromised on design, materials, or craftsmanship, in hardware and software. Early in his career, Jobs argued that creativity was an asset of the young. As people grew older, they got stuck in the patterns etched in their mind by their thoughts. Companies with many layers of middle management filtered out the passion for products. Jobs was the great exception – mercurial, driven, and eager to connect the dots of the future till the end. Unceremoniously thrown out of the company he co-founded, he returned to it enormously enriched with creative ideas. Despite suffering from a rare form of pancreatic cancer diagnosed soon after he unveiled the iTunes music store, he persevered with the development of new products such as the iPhone. In his famous commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, he reflected on the inevitability of mortality: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living somebody else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking … And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” This summed up the life and work of a college dropout who, by connecting the dots and having the courage to follow his heart and intuition, changed the world.

The Hindu

The threat of a resolution against Sri Lanka in March in Geneva, the speech by Canada’s Foreign Minister at the United Nation’s General Assembly, the lobbying within the Commonwealth, the statement by the UK Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, the remarks of the Swiss Federal Attorney General on Gen. Dias, the legal moves in the US and Europe against Lankan soldier-diplomats and in the EU arena to legalise the LTTE, are the spearheads of a multi-pronged strategic offensive.

 While the Sri Lankan media reflects the domestic disagreements on the international policy and diplomatic stance that should be adopted, we may surely agree that what is required is an approach that is, above all else, effective in defending Sri Lanka’s national interest in a hostile climate. But how does one identify “effective diplomacy” and who is to do so credibly and authoritatively? Wikileaks revelations of  confidential cable traffic to Washington DC, throw a spotlight on  a moment  when the US, and in one case France, regarded Sri Lanka as following “an effective” and even “a very effective diplomatic approach”, in challenging conditions.

 Though Sri Lankan newspapers have already published the Wikileaks cable disclosing that in April 2009 the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband spent 60 per cent of his time on Sri Lanka due to the “very vocal Tamil Diaspora in the UK”, what was unknown is that US Secretary of State instructed its Mission in Geneva to throw its weight behind the move on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC Special Sessions in 2009.

 “Mission Geneva is requested to convey to the Czech Republic and other like-minded members of the HRC that the USG supports a special session on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and related aspects of the humanitarian situation.  The Mission is further requested to provide assistance, as needed, to the Czech Republic in obtaining others, signatures to support holding this session…the Mission is also instructed to engage with HRC members to negotiate a resolution as an outcome of this special session, if held. The Department believes a special session that does not result in a resolution would be hailed as a victory by the Government of Sri Lanka. Instructions for line edits to the resolution will be provided by the Department upon review of a draft.”  [Cable dated 4th May 2009 from Secretary of State (United States)]

 Those were the odds then; that was the combination that Sri Lanka was up against in May 2009. We entered the battle with an added disadvantage: we were no longer a member state of the UNHRC. Nominated by the Asian Group, I had been a Vice President of the Council in 2007-8, but we had lost the election held in the UNGA New York by 2009, a venue I was not allowed to attend  as PRUN-Geneva, by the edict of the then Foreign Minister, which reversed a norm.

 As early as September 2007, just two months after I had taken over as Ambassador/PRUN, the Western Group led by UK was revising and reactivating a resolution that had been hanging over Sri Lanka in the previous year, 2006 – a danger and challenge which I had inherited.

 “….a UK Mission contact told us that work is only at an early stage on the text of a possible resolution, which would update one that the EU put forward in last year’s Council session.”  [Cable dated 10th September 2007]

 A Wikileaks cable registers the US concern at our strategy of a high visibility, assertively principled stance, actively building the broadest possible coalitions, issue-based and longer term, as well as holding seminar-type events on the HRC sidelines, fielding academics, professionals and officials of moderate, pluralist views.

 “The GoSL holds numerous events during Council sessions to lay out its position, whereas critics of Sri Lanka’s record are less active. Discreetly encouraging NGOs critical of Sri Lanka to arrange side events could be useful. A member of the International Independent Group of Eminent Experts, possibly its (Indian) Chair, might also be invited to Geneva to discuss Sri Lanka’s human rights situation.” [Cable date 10th March 2008]

 We returned to and re freshed our Non Aligned roots, while twinning Tri-continentalism with the rise of Asia and emergent multi-polarity in the world order. The US Mission informed Washington of the efficacy of our line and stance:  “As in the past, Sri Lanka’s delegation took a tough and often acerbic tone in its latest public relations campaign in Geneva. While this may in part reflect the personality of its ambassador in Geneva, Dayan Jayatilleka, it also reflects a strategy of appealing to NAM countries, to whom it argues implicitly (and probably explicitly, behind closed doors) that it is willing to stand up to the West, which is unfairly picking on it.

That message resonates particularly strongly in the Human Rights Council, further complicating our efforts to use that body to pressure Sri Lanka on its human rights record.” [Cable date 10 March 2008]

An important aspect of our pro-active stance was to regularly field members of our carefully chosen delegation such as Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, Shirani Goonetilleke, Mohan Pieris PC and D-SGs Yasantha Kodagoda and Shavindra Fernando at side events organized by hostile NGOs. Our own events took a debate mode, to which all actors including NGOs and pro-LTTE representatives were invited. At our invitation, Amnesty International actually chaired one such event. This attitude of dynamic, open dialogic engagement was praised by the US mission:

“…They (NGOs) also organized several side-events. One panel, hosted by AI, HRW, and the International Commission of Jurists, included representatives from national human rights institutions but also a representative of the GoSL, Deputy Solicitor-General Shavindra Fernando, who presented the GoSL’s response to issues related to witness protection and the Constitutional Council. NOTE: Several of our interlocutors who were otherwise critical of Sri Lanka praised it for sending a representative to a session at which it knew it would come under criticism. Few other governments showed any willingness to do so. ” [Cable date 7th July 2008]

Our Geneva Mission adopted methods and tactics that eventually defeated the efforts of its adversaries.

“Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has continued to press its public relations campaign in Geneva even as the EU begins to consider either reintroducing a resolution condemning Colombo’s human rights policies or calling a special session of the Council on the issue…. … the GoSL is certain to continue pressing its case in Geneva, as it has been doing aggressively to date.” [Cable date 18 Jan 2008]

 A US Mission cable described the effect of our strategy as follows:

“… There was general agreement that Sri Lanka, and in particular its outspoken ambassador here, were effectively playing off the West against less developed countries.”[Cable date 10 March 2008]

In May 2009, the EU finally managed to present the resolution that it had been nursing for so long, in the wake of a failed effort to table it before the end of Sri Lanka’s victorious war against the LTTE. Anticipating this move, we, together with a broad bloc of allies (NAM plus BRICS), had already prepared a counter resolution which was tabled and adopted by the now well-known majority vote of 29-12.

A considerably important cable conveys the assessment made to Susan Rice, Cabinet-ranked US Ambassador/Permanent Representative in the Security Council, by Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay, on the results of the Special Session on Sri Lanka. The assessment was that “Sri Lanka and its allies…simply outmanoeuvred the EU”.

“Pillay praised the very quiet and effective work of the U.S. Charge in Geneva in helping secure passage of the Sudan resolution. She contrasted this outcome with the result of the special session on Sri Lanka, where the EU was ineffectual, carrying out few if any demarches (this was confirmed to her by Ambassadors from India, Mexico and South Africa). Sri Lanka and its allies, meanwhile, had a draft resolution ready to go and simply outmanoeuvred the EU.” [Cable date 25 June 2009]

This is not a one-off assessment. The Wikileaks cables report a conversation in Paris, significantly between the US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues, Clint Williamson, and senior officials of the French Foreign Ministry (widely respected as the fount of modern European diplomatic tradition and practice). A cable from the US Embassy in Paris to Washington DC quotes France’s Official Representative for International Penal Tribunals, Christian Bernier, as saying that Sri Lanka was “very effective in its diplomatic approach in Geneva”:

“Bernier opined that the Sri Lankan government is “very effective” in its diplomatic approach in Geneva and said France is in an information-collection phase to obtain a more effective result in the HRC”. [Cable dated 16 July 2009]

The very fact that Sri Lanka figured prominently in a discussion that the US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues had with the Official Representative for International Penal Tribunals of a Western ally, fellow Permanent member of the UN Security Council and NATO member, is an incontrovertible indication of the high stakes in Geneva at the Special Session in May 2009, and what would have followed had we not prevailed in that battle. The Wikileaks treasure trove also shows that in 2009, veto wielding powers Russia and China (supported by non-Permanent member, Vietnam) determinedly protected Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council against pressure by the Western Permanent members, with legendary Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov being especially articulate in our defence.

The innermost secret of our “very effective diplomatic approach” in Geneva 2007-9 was intellectual and existential. The representation of Sri Lanka was refashioned; the new discourse was one that “resonated particularly strongly” among a great majority of UNHRC member states (as the US Mission informed the State Dept) enabling us to “outmanoeuvre” ( Navi Pillay) our challengers. History has recorded it as a (singular) success in these years, but History will also judge whether it was a vanguard experiment or merely an anomaly or exception.

From the pile of papers on his table, S. Hettiarachchi, the Chairman of Raja-Ela Farmers’ Organization in the Polonnaruwa district pulled out the copies of two bills yet to be settled by two other fellow farmers   for the purchase of fertilizer and some other agro-inputs during the 2011 Yala season.  Mr. Hettiarachchi, as the head of the organization, usually co-ordinates such purchases on credit. Also, he keeps accounts on them.  The season was bountiful for paddy cultivators in Polonnaruwa this time, and, with the new harvest, all of them, expected to recover from the deep economic setbacks caused by the two bouts of floods that hit the dry zone and the central hills early this year.

Yet, much to their dismay, the paddy prices dropped to as low as Rs.22 a kilo soon after the harvest was collected. With all their hopes dashed,   they had to sell their produce to mill owners at whatever meager price offered to them at the initial stage.  Their debt burden worsened.

The offer of fertilizer subsidy, in fact, helped improve the farming sector in the country for the past several years. But, today, the question has arisen whether it is economically feasible to do paddy farming in an environment where a stable price and other market facilities are unavailable.

Mr. Hettiarachchi said that most farmers in his organization are deep in debt, and some of them had even failed to settle their bills for the fertilizer purchased this time.  “There are many farmers who have mortgaged their tractors and pawned their jewellery. That is the sad part. They are trapped in a cycle of debt,” he said.

True, the government made arrangements to purchase a maximum of 2500 kilos of paddy from each farmer, and the price declared for the purpose was Rs.28 a kilo.   Mr. Hettiarachchi said that there was an inordinate delay on the part of the  government in putting  its tottering mechanism in place for paddy purchases. He added that the delay compelled farmers to sell their produce to private traders at low prices to sustain their initial costs involved in cultivation and harvesting.  

“Farmers  have to cover up their initial cost involved in harvesting. We have to pay for labourers and machines used in the gathering of our harvests.  For that, we have to sell off a portion of our harvests soon after they were reaped. We need a guaranteed price at this stage especially. The government put in place its purchasing machinery after we sold off a large percentage of our harvests at a meager price. By the time government is ready, we have been exploited by private traders,” he said.

According to farmers, a labourer has to be paid an amount of Rs. 800-1000 a day with meals. The cost for machines used in the harvesting process is equally high.

A labourer is a daily wage earner. He depends on his daily income. He cannot wait till we sell our harvest to the state and get money at a later stage. We have to pay him as soon as the harvesting is done,” Mr. Hettiarachchi said.

“Once most of us finished the selling of our harvests, the prices shot up. Today, the paddy prices are very high. But, farmers have a little paddy left with them. What is the use of having a high price when there is little paddy to be sold?,” he questioned.

Farmers strongly believe that a few mill owners enjoy a monopoly in deciding the paddy prices. This is a rice mill mafia apparently acting with the backing of leading politicians. A deputy minister of the government is the largest mill owner in the country, and next to him, is the brother of a leading politician representing Polonnaruwa. They have a huge market share in the industry. May be because of this matter, there is no political will to strengthen the market forces to ensure a better future for farmers, consumers and traders alike. Today, despite the low paddy prices, rice prices remain relatively high in the market. Both farmers and consumers are at the receiving end in the absence of strong market forces backed by the state in controlling possible trading malpractices.  

This is not the first time the country experienced such logistical problems in the paddy purchasing process.  It has become an annual occurrence now.  The 2010 Yala season was also gripped with similar problems compelling the government to hire warehouses even belonging to other organizations.  The same scenario has repeated this time too leaving farmers in frustration and disappointment. Farmers in unison ask the government to work out a sustained system so that they can sell their produce at their desired time without any complication, hassle and difficulty in the process.

For that, they highlight the need to establish warehouses at village level, and to make available expanded and simplified banking facilities to finance the industry. Today, they say, they have to endure a time consuming exercise when applying for bank loans.  Farmers want paddy cultivation to be a profitable   industry.

According to our observations in Polonnaruwa, this problem appears to be confronting  the farmers who are financially weak.  Yet, there are a handful of farmers who are well off, and do not need to sell off their harvests as soon as they are collected from their fields. They can wait till the market prices are stabilized.

P. M. Rajanayake of Perakum Farmers’ Organization in Medirigiriya is one such farmer who has a different view on the situation. “We were able to get loans. Farmers should also take care to improve the quality of their produce. They should dry up their harvest properly and reduce the moisture content,” he said.

In the analysis of different views by these two farmer leaders, it is understood that the debt burden on farmers have to be lessened, as an initial step in boosting the agro-economy. However, Chairman of the Paddy Marketing Board K.B. Jayasinghe said that private traders had started giving a high price for paddy at least being late, because of the intervention by the state. He said that the expected harvest was around 1.5 million tonnes, and of it, the Board had purchased well over 76,000 tonnes by this time.

Asked about the delay in the purchasing process, he said, “We have to make arrangements according to the facilities available with us. Anyway, we purchase around 2500 kilos from a farmer. That is fair enough.” 

When asked about measures for strengthening the market forces, he said that a new loan scheme had been introduced for farmers to get credit facilities from banks keeping their harvest as a guarantee. “Then, farmers can keep their harvest at home and apply for loans to be used in covering up initial costs. They need not depend on traders. Farmers will get used to these systems little by little,” he said.

Pics by Samantha Perera